Tags
Agatha Christie, Daisy Ridley, Derek Jacobi, Dunkirk, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Pfeiffer, Murder on the Orient Express, Olivia Colman, Penélope Cruz, Poirot, Willem Dafoe
From the novel by Agatha Christie, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh (Dunkirk, Wallander), Murder on the Orient Express follows Detective Poirot as he races to find a killer amongst 12 strangers aboard a stranded train.
Everyone has heard of Poirot – there have been various adaptions of Agatha Christie’s novels – and so this remake (for apparently there is an original film of the novel from 1974) was hugely anticipated. This was partly due to the incredible cast of actors involved, led by the great Kenneth Branagh who gives us his own unique portrayal of Poirot – complete with a ridiculous moustache! I can’t say I’ve ever really watched any of the other Poirot stuff but there has been a lot online about Branagh’s decision to change the moustache, and I have to admit it is very distracting! Branagh is known for his theatrical jobs and here we almost have a one man show for the film is entirely dominated by Poirot – I get that the film is about the detective but with such a great cast you’d think they would have shared out the airtime! Branagh does do a great job though, his portrayal gives us a character that is clearly very talented at solving mysteries, but we also see a sense of humour as well as a deep sadness for his lost love.
Alongside Branagh there is: Dame Judi Dench (James Bond, Philomena), Johnny Depp 
(Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Scissorhands), Michelle Pfeiffer (Dangerous Liasions, Scarface), Penélope Cruz (Pirates of the Caribbean, Zoolander 2), Derek Jacobi (Last Tango in Halifax, Gladiator), Willem Dafoe (Spider-man, Finding Nemo), Olivia Colman (Broadchurch, The Night Manager), Josh Gad (Frozen, Beauty and the Beast) and Daisy Ridley (Star Wars). As you can see a very impressive cast and all give excellent performances but unfortunately are dominated by Branagh. I definitely think they should have used this impressive cast to their advantage and instead of wasting a lot of time at the beginning following Poirot as he begins his 
journey, the film should have got straight into the action on the train and given us more from the rest of the cast.
Visually, Murder on the Orient Express, is fantastic. There are some stunning shots of the train moving through the snow covered mountains – all CGI of course – and the various camera angles used throughout helped to keep you guessing as to who the killer was. I particularly liked the scene when the body is found, it was shot from above so all you see is the tops of the heads of the cast and it moves along the carriage as the characters move.
Overall, Murder on the Orient Express is a good film with a great cast, but for me it was a little bit boring. It takes ages for the characters to even get on the train, and Branagh has so many long speeches that at times my mind would wander – mainly to stare at his ridiculous moustache, which is a huge distraction! It’s not a film that I would be fussed about seeing again to be honest which is not really something I should be saying when it has a cast as great as this one does! Maybe I’m just the wrong demographic for the film, but if you don’t like Kenneth Branagh then you really won’t like this!
Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl & The Theory of Everything – for which he won an Oscar) is absolutely perfect as Newt Scamander, I love him as an actor anyway so was very happy when he was revealed as the lead! The character of Newt is very passionate about all magical creatures and Eddie plays this brilliantly, you can really see the care and attention he gives to each one and his desperation to prove that rare/unknown creatures are not necessarily dangerous and therefore shouldn’t be harmed. Newt and Jacob are the perfect double-act giving moments of humour as well as more emotional scenes. Eddie and Dan work really well together, as do Dan and Alison (Queenie) who bring the romantic side of the film. In fact the whole cast is brilliant, and there are a few well 
known names too! Colin Farrell plays Graves, one of the wizards working against Newt and his creatures, and though disappointingly he doesn’t have his lovely Irish accent, he is excellent as one of the baddies. Jon Voight (Angelina Jolie’s Dad) has a small role, as does Johnny Depp – though his character will be followed more in the upcoming sequels – and Gemma Chan (Humans and Jack Whitehall’s girlfriend).
Black Mass follows the true story of Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp), the brother of a state senator (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf. Although the story is about Bulger the majority of the film is told through the FBI, in particular John Connelly (Joel Edgerton) who is heading the case against Bulger’s enemies but soon finds himself working too closely with Bulger and essentially becomes the reason that Bulger got away with so much for many years.
mother and brother Billy – who has gone down a completely different path and is a state Senator. When Whitey’s criminal actions start to catch up with him their relationship is put to the test as Billy’s position means he cannot be seen to be involved with his brother in any way. Johnny Depp is sensational as Whitey Bulger, he really does give a brilliant performance throughout from the vulnerable side to the hardcore criminal mastermind. He is also unrecognisable in the role due to blue contacts, little hair and facial prosthetics. Frankly he looks a little creepy, and nothing like the lovely Johnny Depp we normally see! This takes a little getting used too but it helps make his character totally believable.
The rest of cast is made up of well known names from: Dakota Johnson, Juno Temple, Kevin Bacon and Adam Scott. All of which give really believable performances, Dakota in particular is great as Bulger’s girlfriend and mother of his son. Benedict too is of course his usual excellent self, though his American accent is a little strange to hear!
able in other words! It is a little heavy going though, I was struggling a little to keep up with who was who and to keep on top of all the people Bulger had killed for various reasons. It’s not so bad that you lose your interest though, I found that it just made me more determined to concentrate on what was happening!